Pinus coulteri. COULTER PINE. California
PINACEAE (Pine family)

Coulter pine is conspicuous by its large cones (it is
often called bigcone pine) that may be over a foot long and are covered with
long, wicked, incurving claws. The needles are inthrees, about 9 inches long
and have a deep bluish tinge. Coulter pine is widespread in the coast ranges
of Southern California, but is also common in the Santa Lucia Mountains just
south of Monterey, and reaches as far north as the Bay Area. The cone scales
have a rather attractive two-tone coloration. Why this native has not been accorded
more respect on campus is a mystery.

A mature specimen is 40 feet west of the SAE parking lot on Campus Drive East,
among a group of P. halepensis. It is
named for the Irish botanist Thomas Coulter (1793–1843).